Sample Lesson
Welcome to History Alive! The Ancient World. This document contains everything you
need to teach the sample lesson “The Rise of Sumerian City-States.” We invite you
to use this sample lesson today to discover how the TCI Approach can make history
come alive for your students.
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Contents
Letter from Bert Bower, TCI Founder and CEO
2
Benefits of History Alive! The Ancient World
3
Program Contents
4
Student Edition: Sample Chapter 4: The Rise of Sumerian City-States
5
Lesson Guide
17
Assessment
28
Interactive Student Notebook
29
Visuals
37
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Welcome!
H i s to ry A l i ve! T h e A n c i e n t Wo rl d
W
elcome to the second edition of History Alive! The Ancient World, which
is a part of TCI’s engaging middle school social studies series. Since the
program was first released, I’ve been slipping into classrooms with my camera to
catch the TCI Approach in action. Despite the great diversity of classes in which
the images were taken—in urban and suburban settings, in mainstream and
English Language Development classes, with honors and special education
students—one similarity always strikes me: students are actively involved in
history and having a great time.
Our goal in creating History Alive! The Ancient World was to engage students’
multiple intelligences, connect history to their own lives, and foster critical
thinking. The result has been a movement away from traditional, teacher-centered
classrooms to more engaging, active social studies instruction. Improved test
scores, student enthusiasm for history, and teacher renewal have followed.
I encourage you to try this sample lesson from History Alive! The Ancient World
welcome
with your students today. And I’d love one day to receive a photo of your students
2
in action, totally absorbed in the study of history.
Welcome to the growing TCI community of inspired, active social studies teachers!
Best,
Bert Bower
TCI Founder and CEO
Benefits of History Alive! The Ancient World
•support language arts instruction in the
social studies curriculum with reading,
writing, speaking, and listening activities,
as well as Reading and Writing Toolkits.
•use Enrichment Resources to help
students extend learning beyond the
lessons, including biographies, literature,
primary sources, Internet projects and
links, and essays related to ancient
world history.
•incorporate Quicker Coverage and Deeper
Coverage suggestions to adjust the pace
and depth of instruction.
T
he TCI program promotes historical
curiosity and empathy, as students
step back in time to visit ancient
civilizations and make connections with
their current lives. For example, students
•travel with early hominids as they move
from hunting and gathering to farming.
•excavate a Shang dynasty tomb to learn
about this early civilization’s government,
social structure, art, and technology.
benefits
•tour Athens during its Golden Age.
3
History Alive! The Ancient World was created
by teachers, for teachers. The program is
flexible and easy to use, providing a variety
of ways to meet diverse student needs and
curriculum configurations. Teachers can
•modify instruction for English language
learners, learners reading and writing
below grade level, learners with special
education needs, and advanced learners.
This newest edition includes many features
to make ancient world history come alive
for students.
•Setting the Stage sections at the
beginning of each unit orient students
to the physical and human geography
of what’s to come.
•Geography Challenge activities
complement Setting the Stage by asking
students to apply both geography and
critical thinking skills.
•Reading Further sections provide highinterest case studies that drill down into
interesting events, concepts, and people
discussed in the chapter.
•Timeline Challenge activities at the end
of each unit highlight key events, people,
and places and ask students to apply both
chronology and critical thinking skills.
History Alive! The Ancient World will help
you ignite your students’ passion for
history—and re-ignite your passion for
teaching it!
H i s to ry A l i ve! T h e A n c i e n t Wo rl d
History Alive! The Ancient World introduces students to the beginnings of the human
story. As they explore the early civilizations of Egypt and the Middle East, India, China,
Greece, and Rome, students discover the greatness of these ancient cultures and how
they continue to influence the modern world.
Welcome!
Program Contents
7 Geography and the Early Settlement of Egypt, Kush, and Canaan
In History Alive! The Ancient World,
an Essential Question organizes
each chapter and its corresponding
activity. By reading the Student
Edition and participating in the
classroom activity, students gain a
deeper understanding of the content.
Unit 5: Ancient Greece
25 Geography and the Settlement of Greece
26 The Rise of Democracy
8 The Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs
27 Life in Two City-States: Athens
and Sparta
9 Daily Life in Ancient Egypt
28 Fighting the Persian Wars
10 The Kingdom of Kush
29 The Golden Age of Athens
11 The Origins of Judaism
30 Alexander the Great and His Empire
12 Learning About World
Religions: Judaism
31 The Legacy of Ancient Greece
Unit 3: Ancient India
Unit 6: Ancient Rome
13 Geography and the Early
Settlement of India
32 Geography and the Early Development of Rome
14 Unlocking the Secrets of Mohenjodaro
33 The Rise of the Roman
Republic
Unit 1: Early Humans and the Rise
of Civilization
15 Learning About World
Religions: Hinduism
34 From Republic to Empire
1 Investigating the Past
16 Learning About World Religions: Buddhism
2 Early Hominids
3 From Hunters and Gatherers
to Farmers
4 The Rise of Sumerian
City-States
17 The First Unification of India
18 The Achievements of the Gupta Empire
5 Ancient Sumer
Unit 4: Ancient China
6 Exploring Four Empires of Mesopotamia
19 Geography and the Early
Settlement of China
20 The Shang Dynasty
35 Daily Life in the Roman Empire
36 The Origins and Spread of
Christianity
37 Learning About World Religions: Christianity
38 The Legacy of Rome in the Modern World
F R E E 3 0 DAY T R I A L
21 Three Chinese Philosophies
22 The First Emperor of China
23 The Han Dynasty
Sample Lesson:
4 The Rise of Sumerian
City-States
24 The Silk Road
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4
H i s to ry A l i ve! T h e A n c i e n t Wo rl d
Unit 2: Ancient Egypt and the
Middle East
The Rise of Sumerian
City-States
How did geographic challenges lead to the rise
of city-states in Mesopotamia?
4.1 Introduction
▲
From Caves to City-States
2 Million B.C.E.
1,750,000 B.C.E.
6
1 Million B.C.E.
Paleolithic Age
2 Million to
8000 B.C.E.
500,000 B.C.E.
10,000 B.C.E.
1 B.C.E.
Enlarged Section
10,000 to 1 B.C.E.
Neolithic
Age
8000-3000
B.C.E.
10,000 B.C.E.
5,000 B.C.E.
Sumerian
City-States
3500-2300
B.C.E.
1 B.C.E.
These ruins in the Syrian Desert reveal an ancient Sumerian walled city.
The Rise of Sumerian City-States 33
Draft
| Visuals
In Chapter 3, you learned how people in the Fertile Crescent began farming and living in small villages. In this chapter, you’ll see how small Neolithic villages grew into large, complex cities. These villages were located in a land of rolling hills and low plains called Mesopotamia (meh-suh-puh-TAY-mee-uh). This land is in modern-day Iraq. Mesopotamia is a Greek word that means the “land between the rivers.” These two main rivers of the Fertile Crescent are the Tigris (TIE-gruhs) River and the Euphrates (yuh-FRAY-teez) River. Cities first appeared in the southern part of this land. The earliest cities in this area date back to about 3500 B.C.E. These first cities were like small, independent countries. They each had their own ruler, as well as their own farmland which provided food. Suppose that you were visiting one of these early cities. You would see a walled settlement surrounded by farmland used to supply food for the city. You would see strong city walls built of sunbaked bricks. Moats, or ditches filled with water, would surround these walls and help keep out enemies. During an attack, people living outside the city walls would flee inside for protection.
As you gazed at the city, you might wonder how it came to be built. Why didn’t people in Mesopotamia go on living in small villages, as their ancestors had done for thousands of years? Why did large city-states grow in the “land between the rivers”? In this chapter, you’ll find out.
| Stu d e n t E d i ti o n | L e s s o n G u i d e | L e s s o n M a s te rs | I n te ra c ti ve Stu d e n t N o te b o o k
Chapter 4
times, the geographic area located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
Tigris River one of the two largest rivers in Southwest Asia that flow from the mountains in Turkey to the Persian Gulf
Euphrates River one of the two largest rivers in Southwest Asia that flow from mountains in Turkey to the Persian Gulf
Over time, Mesopotamians found solutions to these four problems. Let’s explore how their solutions led to the building of some of the first cities in the world. Mesopotamia, About 2500 B.C.E.
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Ancient Mesopotamia, About 2500 B.C.E.
BlackChapter 4
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Fertile Crescent
Sumer
Modern
coastline
50°E
Persian
Gulf
Neolithic farming
community
Sumerian city-state
55°E
| Visuals
Geographic features such as the
climate, the Zagros Mountains,
and the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers affected where people
settled in Mesopotamia.
It was not easy to live in the part of the Fertile Crescent called Mesopotamia. The northern part was hilly and received rain. The southern part had low plains, or flat land. The sun beat down fiercely on the plains between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. There was little rain. The Mesopotamians were farmers, and their farms needed water. The rivers brought water to the plains in flood season, but for most of the year the soil was hard and dry. On the plains, building materials were difficult to find. There were plenty of reeds (weeds that grow near rivers). But there were few trees to provide wood. Even stones were scarce. And there were few natural barriers to keep out enemies. Mesopotamians faced four major problems as they tried to survive in this environment:
• food shortages in the hills
• an uncontrolled water supply on the plains
• difficulties in building and maintaining systems that provided water across village boundaries • attacks by neighboring communities
| Stu d e n t E d i ti o n | L e s s o n G u i d e | L e s s o n M a s te rs | I n te ra c ti ve Stu d e n t N o te b o o k
4.2 Mesopotamia: A Difficult Environment
Mesopotamia in ancient 7
| Stu d e n t E d i ti o n | L e s s o n G u i d e | L e s s o n M a s te rs | I n te ra c ti ve Stu d e n t N o te b o o k
You learned in the last chapter that, in Neolithic times, people in some areas of the world began farming. The rolling foothills of the Zagros (ZAH-grihs) Mountains in northern Mesopotamia was one of these areas. Mild weather and plentiful rains made the foothills a good place to farm. The wooded hills provided timber for building shelters. There were plenty of stones in the hills for toolmaking. Over several thousand years, these good conditions allowed the number of people in Mesopotamia to grow dramatically. Then problems arose. Some historians believe that by 5000 B.C.E., farmers in the Zagros foothills did not have enough land to grow food for the increasing population. As a result, villages began to suffer from food shortages. Below the foothills and to the south, the Euphrates and Tigris rivers ran through flat plains. The plains covered a large area of land, and few people lived there. During most of the year, the land was very hard and dry. And the plains lacked trees and stones for making shelters and tools. Yet, the plains held promise, too. In the spring, both of the rivers flooded, bringing precious water to the land. Perhaps farms could be successful there. Driven by the need to grow food, people moved out of the foothills and onto the plains. This region became known as Sumer (SOO-mer), and its people, the Sumerians. Draft
The Zagros foothills were an ideal
place to farm.
| Visuals
4.3 Food Shortages in the Hills
8
Sumer an area in southern Mesopotamia, where cities first appeared
The Rise of Sumerian City-States 35
4.4 Uncontrolled Water Supply in the
River Valley
supplying land with water
levee a wall of earth built to prevent a river from flooding its banks
36 Chapter 4
Draft
| Visuals
irrigation a means of The farmers who moved to Sumer faced many challenges. One of the biggest problems was the uncontrolled water supply. During the spring, rain and melted snow from the mountains flowed into the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, causing them to flood across the plains. But no one could be sure exactly when the floods would come. If it happened after farmers planted their crops, the young plants would be washed away. For much of the rest of the year, the sunbaked soil was dry and hard as stone. Hot, strong winds blew thick layers of dust across the ground. Faced with such dramatic seasonal changes, farmers had to constantly struggle to raise crops. They had either too little or too much water. To grow food, they needed a way to control the water so they would have a reliable water supply all year round. Therefore, Sumerian farmers began to create irrigation systems for their fields. They built levees along the sides of the river to prevent flooding. When the land was dry, the farmers poked holes in the levees. The water flowed through the holes and into the thirsty fields. Over time, the Sumerians learned other ways to control the supply of water. They dug canals to shape the paths the water took. They also constructed dams along the river to block the water and force it to collect in pools they had built. These pools, or reservoirs, stored the water for later use.
| Stu d e n t E d i ti o n | L e s s o n G u i d e | L e s s o n M a s te rs | I n te ra c ti ve Stu d e n t N o te b o o k
The Euphrates is the longest
river in Southwest Asia.
9
Draft
silt fine particles of rock
| Visuals
Irrigation systems provided enough water for Sumerian farmers to grow plenty of food. But a new problem arose: how to maintain the irrigation system across village boundaries.
The irrigation system passed through a number of villages as it carried water from the river to the fields. The system needed constant care and repair. Canals became clogged with silt, so farmers had to clean them regularly. One clogged canal could disrupt the entire system. Since villages were connected for miles around by these canals, farmers could no longer live apart, or in small groups. They had to work together for the common good. Gradually, villages came to depend on one another to build and maintain this complex irrigation system. People who lived in different villages may have worked together to clear the silt from the canals to keep them open. Workers may have scooped water from one reservoir into another to ensure that water levels were balanced. As the Sumerians worked together, they began to create larger communities. Between 3500 and 3000 B.C.E., villages grew into towns. Some towns in Sumer became cities with populations as large as several thousand people. | Stu d e n t E d i ti o n | L e s s o n G u i d e | L e s s o n M a s te rs | I n te ra c ti ve Stu d e n t N o te b o o k
4.5 Building and Maintaining a Complex
Irrigation System
The Euphrates River still irrigates
fields in Iraq today.
The Rise of Sumerian City-States 37
10
4.7 From Small Farming Villages to Large
City-States
city-state an early city that was like a small, independent country with its own laws and government
38 Chapter 4
Draft
As you’ve seen, beginning around 3500 B.C.E., the Sumerians progressed from living in small farming villages to building large, walled cities. How and why did this happen? The answer lies not only in the problems the Sumerians faced, but also in their solutions. A basic challenge for any group of people is how to provide food for itself. Food shortages had forced settlers in Mesopotamia to move from the foothills down to the river valley. There, farmers faced the problem of having either too much water or too little. | Visuals
A stele (STEE-lee) is an upright
slab of stone inscribed with letters
and pictures to depict important
events. This part of the Stele of the
Vultures, which was found in Iraq,
shows an attacking army.
As Sumerian cities grew, they fought over the right to use more water. Sometimes, people in cities located upriver (closer to where the river begins) built new canals or blocked other cities’ canals. In this way, they kept water from reaching the cities that were downriver (farther from where the river begins). Disputes over water became so intense that they often led to bloodshed. The Sumerians looked for ways to protect their cities from neighboring communities. The plains provided no natural barriers. There were no mountain ranges or rushing rivers to keep out enemies. The Sumerians began to build strong walls around their cities. They constructed the walls out of mud bricks that were baked in the sun until hard. The Sumerians also dug moats outside city walls to help prevent enemies from entering their cities. Most people lived in houses within the walled cities, but the farms lay outside. In case of attack, farmers fled the fields for safety inside the city walls. The walled cities of Sumer were like independent countries. Historians call them city-states. By about 3000 B.C.E., most Sumerians lived in city-states. | Stu d e n t E d i ti o n | L e s s o n G u i d e | L e s s o n M a s te rs | I n te ra c ti ve Stu d e n t N o te b o o k
4.6 Attacks by Neighboring
Communities
11
12
Chapter Summary
In this chapter, you have learned how geographic challenges led to the rise of
city-states in Mesopotamia.
Food Shortages in the Hills A shortage of food forced people to move from the foothills of the Zagros Mountains to the plains between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This plains area became Sumer.
Controlling Water Supply on the Plains Farmers in Sumer faced times of flooding and drought. They built irrigation systems to create a steady water supply. Maintaining these complex systems required cooperation among villages.
From Farming Villages to City-States As villages grew into towns and cities, some became large city-states with protective walls around them.
Draft
| Visuals
A Sumerian city-state was like a
tiny country. Its surrounding walls
helped protect the city against
enemies.
| Stu d e n t E d i ti o n | L e s s o n G u i d e | L e s s o n M a s te rs | I n te ra c ti ve Stu d e n t N o te b o o k
To control the water supply, Sumerians built a complex irrigation system. The system crossed village boundaries, so the Sumerians had to cooperate with one another. This led them to live in larger communities—the first cities. These city-states were like independent countries. Often, they fought with one another. To defend themselves, the Sumerians built walls and dug moats around their cities. By 3000 B.C.E., the solutions to the challenges faced by the Sumerians had transformed Sumerian farming villages into walled city-states. The Rise of Sumerian City-States 39
Detecting the Past:
Clues from Archaeology
Suppose that you are standing in the desert, southwest of
the present-day city of Baghdad in Iraq. In the distance to
the east, you see the Euphrates River. To the west are miles
of desert. You then notice that scattered on the ground are
small mounds of dirt. What could have made these mounds?
Woolley and His Team Begin
In general, archaeologists work in three stages. Woolley had just completed the first stage—Learn and Plan. He was now ready to begin the second stage—Dig and Discover. “The first thing that I did,” he wrote in 1922, “was to dig trial trenches . . . [to] give us some idea of the layout of the city.” Draft
40 Chapter 4
| Visuals
British archaeologist Leonard
Woolley worked like a real-life
detective to reveal the secrets of
the ancient city of Ur.
Leonard Woolley asked that same question in 1922 when he began excavating the ancient city of Ur in Mesopotamia. Woolley was a British archaeologist who had been trained to work much like a detective. His excavations and discoveries in Mesopotamia, between 1922 and 1934, tell a real-life detective story.
For an archaeologist working in the early 1900s, Woolley’s approach was unusually careful and scientific. Many archaeologists of that time viewed research as an adventure, not as a science. They often dug up sites to search for treasure, more than to gain knowledge. They made little effort to preserve the sites or to prevent them from being damaged. These archaeologists often handed over artifacts to museums and private collectors in exchange for fame and money. Woolley, on the other hand, wrote that his goal was “to get history, not to fill museum cases, . . . and [that] history could not be got unless both we and our men were duly trained.” Therefore, he excavated using a basic plan. In this way, he preserved each clue that might help him understand life at Ur.
By the time he arrived at Ur, Woolley had already studied what others before him had found there. He knew where an ancient temple had once stood, who had built it, and when the construction had begun and ended. But, most important, Woolley knew that the city in which the temple had stood was called Ur, and its people, the Sumerians.
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Reading Further
13
| Visuals
Woolley dug deep trenches to discover how many generations of people had lived at Ur. He and his team examined each stratum, or layer of earth, from the top to the bottom of the trench. When Woolley went down into the first trench, he found mud-brick buildings at the shallowest, or most recent, layer. Slowly, he uncovered layer after layer, moving back in time. At one point, the remains of the brick buildings disappeared. Next, he found reed huts. Excited by these early discoveries, the team continued to dig in and around Ur. Each object, no matter how small, was considered important. As the team uncovered each layer of a trench, workers sifted the dirt. Others kept records of where objects were found. These artifacts were labeled and packed carefully in boxes.
14
More Discoveries
During the first four seasons, team members reached the bottom of the ziggurat, or temple area. They also explored other places. Slowly, one discovery at a time, a picture of Sumerian farming life came together. The evidence showed that the Sumerians used stone hoes to raise grain. They used grinding stones to grind the grain into flour, which they used to make bread. In addition to these discoveries, the team found plaster made with cow dung, which the Sumerians used to build their houses. Also found was a statue of a pig, indicating to the team that the Sumerians had other farm animals. Draft
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The ziggurat, or temple area, of Ur
rises from the ruins of the ancient
city. Woolley carried out excavations of Ur from 1922 to 1934.
The Rise of Sumerian City-States 41
Woolley’s Most Famous Discovery
42 Chapter 4
Draft
| Visuals
This is one of the deep pits Woolley and his team dug at Ur. Woolley
is one of the figures at the very
bottom. His staff is standing along
the steps and around the edge at
the top. Shown below is a gameboard discovered by Woolley and
his team.
In their fifth season, Woolley and his team started to excavate their most famous discovery—a graveyard. They uncovered more than 1,850 burial sites. Most of the burials dated from about 2600 to 2500 B.C.E. The burial techniques were simple. Bodies were wrapped in reed mats or put in clay coffins in small pits. This discovery made headlines all over the world. It was the first time that so many artifacts, including jewelry and weapons, had been found in Mesopotamia. But the biggest discovery was yet to come. Woolley and his team uncovered graves that contained great riches—the Royal Tombs of Ur. These tombs sometimes had more than one room and contained many bodies surrounded by valuable objects. What Woolley found here would lead him to ask intriguing questions and to find startling answers. What did the tombs reveal? Woolley was able to identify the bodies buried in two of the graves. Near the bodies, writing was found on clay cylinder seals: “Mesdalamdug lugal,” or king, and “Puabi nin,” or queen. These burials had been grander. The bodies were discovered in rooms in deep holes. The chambers were built of stone and had domed ceilings. The remains of jewelry, musical instruments, chariots, games, tools and weapons, and cups and jugs led the archaeologists to reach an interesting conclusion: the Sumerians must have believed in an afterlife. These were objects the deceased would need in the afterlife. The team also uncovered ramps that led down into the tombs. All along the ramp and around the tomb were many other bodies. Woolley wondered why all these bodies were there. They were lined up as if the people had all gone to sleep. There were broken cups by their sides. He reached a surprising conclusion. It was likely that these people had deliberately taken poison. They likely expected to go with their king or queen into the next life. | Stu d e n t E d i ti o n | L e s s o n G u i d e | L e s s o n M a s te rs | I n te ra c ti ve Stu d e n t N o te b o o k
The workers uncovered fish bones and the sinkers used to drop fishing nets to the river bottom. They discovered a clay model of a boat, similar to one that Iraqis were still using in Woolley’s time. This indicated that the Sumerians ate fish and made nets to catch them. Finally, the team found parts of a weaving loom, showing that the people of Ur knew how to make cloth.
15
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What Happened After the Expedition?
Back home, Woolley and the team would complete the final stage of their work—Preserve, Reconstruct, and Interpret. They had already packed and shipped artifacts back to museums. There, scientists would study, preserve, or reconstruct them, if necessary.
What exactly would expensive jewelry from 4,500 years ago look like? One such puzzle was Queen Puabi’s headdress and jewelry. When the items were uncovered, they were lying on the ground in pieces. They were made of gold, with lapis lazuli and carnelian beads as decoration. First, the team photographed the jewelry and recorded exactly where each piece had been found in relation to the others. Then, the workers put them in boxes. Back in the lab, archaeologists pieced together the headdress. Team members also reassembled the queen’s necklaces and large hoop earrings. Woolley’s Legacy
| Visuals
The final step in an expedition is figuring out how to fit all the clues together. Woolley finished his work at Ur in 1934. For the rest of his life, he wrote about what he had discovered at the site and what he had learned.
Here are Woolley’s major contributions toward our understanding of Sumerian life: The Sumerians were farmers and fishermen. They dug canals and irrigated their fields. They raised animals. They ground grain to make bread. They made cloth. They even took time to make statues of animals. They lived in plastered reed huts and, later, in mud-brick buildings. In addition, Wooley discovered clues that told him that the Sumerians believed in an afterlife and were willing to die for their king or queen. They used a writing system, called cuneiform, to identify kings, conduct business, and describe Sumerian life. They also created works of art and music.
Leonard Woolley set the stage for careful and scientific theories about Mesopotamia that later archaeologists would further investigate and build on. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Iraqi government used Woolley’s research to reconstruct the Ur ziggurat. Woolley would likely have appreciated that. He truly believed that present and future generations would better understand who they were by knowing who had come before.
16
Woolley’s most important find was
the grave of Queen Puabi. His team
found the remains of her body. The
top picture shows the gold headdress she was wearing, just as it
was when discovered in her grave.
The bottom picture shows the
reconstructed headdress.
The Rise of Sumerian City-States 43
Draft
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R e s p o n s e
C H A P T E R
G r o u p
4
The Rise of Sumerian
City-States
How did geographic challenges lead to the rise of
city-states in Mesopotamia?
Overview
Materials
In a Response Group activity, students learn how responses to geographic
challenges resulted in the formation of complex Sumerian city-states.
History Alive!
The Ancient World
Objectives
Visuals
Interactive Student
Notebooks
Visuals 4A–4D
In the course of reading this chapter and participating in the classroom activity,
students will
CD Tracks 2–5
Social Studies
• Vocabulary Development
handout (1 per student, on
colored paper)
• describe the location and physical setting of Mesopotamia, including the
Tigris and Euphrates river system.
• analyze geographic problems affecting ancient Mesopotamians and evaluate
potential solutions.
• describe how Mesopotamians modified their physical environment to solve
geographic problems.
Lesson Masters
poster paper (2 sheets per
group of 3)
colored pencils or markers
• explain how the development of agricultural techniques, such as irrigation
systems, led to the emergence of Sumerian city-states.
Language Arts
• support opinions with detailed evidence and with visual or media displays
that use apporpriate technology.
• deliver presentations on problems and solutions that establish connections
between the defined problem and at least one solution and that offer
persuasive evidence to validate the proposed solution(s).
Social Studies Vocabulary
Key Content Terms Mesopotamia, Tigris River, Euphrates River, Sumer,
irrigation, levee, silt, city-state
Academic Vocabulary complex, material, maintain, layer, dispute
Draft
The Rise of Sumerian City-States
39
17
G u i d e
Activity
Suggested Time
Materials
Preview
10 minutes
• Interactive Student Notebooks
Vocabulary Development
30–40 minutes
• History Alive! The Ancient World
• Interactive Student Notebooks
• Vocabulary Development handout
Response Group
140 minutes
• History Alive! The Ancient World
(2–3 regular periods)
• Interactive Student Notebooks
(1.5 block periods)
• Visuals 4A–4D
• CD Tracks 2–5
• poster paper (2 sheets per group of 3)
• colored pencils or markers
20 minutes
• Interactive Student Notebooks
Assessment
40 minutes
• Chapter 4 Assessment
Draft
40 Chapter 4
| Visuals
Processing
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P l a n n i n g
18
Preview
1 Have students complete the Preview activity for Chapter 4 in their
Interactive Student Notebooks. Students think of a problem or challenge
they faced, and describe what they did to solve it.
2 Have students share their answers in pairs or as a class.
3 Explain the connection between the Preview activity and Chapter 4. Tell
students that the people of ancient Mesopotamia also faced challenges. Just
as students had to come up with ways to solve their problems in the Preview,
the people of Mesopotamia had to come up with solutions for their problems. In this chapter, students will learn about four geographic challenges
that Mesopotamians faced and discover how the solutions to these problems
transformed Neolithic farming villages into complex Sumerian city-states.
Vocabulary Development
2 Have students complete a Vocabulary Development handout. Give each
student a copy of the Vocabulary Development handout of your choice
from the Reading Toolkit at the back of the Lesson Masters. These handouts
provide extra Key Content Term practice and support, depending on your
students’ needs. Review the completed handout by asking volunteers to share
one answer for each term.
Reading
1 Introduce the Essential Question and have students read Section 4.1.
Afterward, have students use information from the section and from the
chapter opener image to propose some possible answers to the Essential
Question: How did geographic challenges lead to the rise of city-states in
Mesopotamia?
Vocabulary
Development: Foreign
Words in English
Visuals
1 Introduce the Key Content Terms. Have students locate the Key Content
Terms for the chapter in their Interactive Student Notebooks. These are
important terms that will help them understand the main ideas of the chapter. Ask volunteers to identify any familiar terms and how they might be
used in a sentence.
Remind students that
English contains many
words from foreign languages, and note that
levee is one of them.
Have students use a
dictionary to find the
language that gave us
levee (Old French) and
its meaning in that language (“to raise”). Help
them relate the original
meaning of the word to
the meaning used in this
chapter.
19
2 Have students complete the Reading Notes for Chapter 4. Assign Sections
4.2 to 4.7 during the activity, as indicated in the procedures that follow.
Remind students to use the Key Content Terms where appropriate as they
complete their Reading Notes.
Draft
The Rise of Sumerian City-States
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P r o c e d u r e s
41
Response Group
1 Place students in groups of three and introduce the activity. Tell students
that they will take on the roles of ancient Mesopotamians facing a series of
problems. For each problem, students will learn about the issue, propose a
problem.
2 Have students read Section 4.2 and complete the corresponding Reading
Notes in their Interactive Student Notebooks. Tell students that they
will learn important information about the environment of Mesopotamia
that will help them in their roles as ancient Mesopotamians. Use Guide
to Reading Notes 4 to review the answers as a class. (Note: Students may
struggle with the various proper names for this region. Consider using the
map in Section 4.2 to explain the relative locations of the Fertile Crescent,
Mesopotamia, Sumer, and Ur.)
3 Have students take on roles as Neolithic farmers. Project Visual 4A: Zagros
Mountains and play CD Track 2, “Problem A: Food Shortages in the Hills.”
Tell students to take the roles of members of Neolithic farm families sitting
announced that dinner has been canceled. Have students listen to the recordvisual.
4 Have groups discuss possible solutions to Problem A. Encourage students
to examine the image closely and use the information from the recording
to discuss the four options listed. Group members should choose the option
they think will best solve the food shortage and prepare to justify their choice
with two reasons. Allow groups adequate time to discuss and jot down their
ideas.
V i s u a l
4 A
Zagros Mountains
Problem A: You are a Mesopotamian living in one of the villages in
the foothills. You must decide what to do about the food shortages in
your village. Which of the following responses do you think will best
address the problem?
20
A. Increase the number of times each year that farmers plant their
crops.
B. Move down to the river plains and try to grow crops there.
C. Abandon farming and return to hunting and gathering.
D. Attack neighboring villages and steal their food.
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
History Alive! The Ancient World
8
Visual 4A
5 Appoint a Presenter for each group, and have groups share their answers.
Ask Presenters to share with the class their group’s solution to Problem
A. Encourage them to point out details from Visual 4A that support their
group’s answers. (Note:
sider holding a class debate and then a vote to decide what to do. If all groups
choose the same solution, encourage each group to come up with a unique
reason for either why group members chose that option or why they rejected
another option.)
V i s u a l
4 B
Euphrates River
6 Have students read Section 4.3 and complete the corresponding Reading
Notes. Clarify any questions students may have about the reading.
7
Problem B: Uncontrolled Water Supply in the River Valley
• Project Visual 4B: Euphrates River and play CD Track 3, “Problem B:
Uncontrolled Water Supply in the River Valley.” While students listen to
the recording, have them picture themselves standing ankle deep in water
Problem B: You live in one of the villages on the Mesopotamian plains.
To provide your village with a year-round supply of water, you must
design a water-control system. Draw and label the best plan for this
system. Your plan should include rivers and fields.
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
Visual 4B
Draft
42 Chapter 4
History Alive! The Ancient World
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P r o c e d u r e s
9
• Have groups discuss possible solutions to Problem B. Distribute poster
paper on which student groups will draw their water-control systems. Give
groups a limited amount of time, about 5 to 15 minutes, to complete their
designs.
• Rotate the role of Presenter to a new student.
• Ask the first group’s Presenter to share the group’s plan for a water-control
system. Ask all subsequent groups to share one aspect of their design that
is similar to or different from that of any previous group.
• After the discussion, have students read Section 4.4 and complete the
corresponding Reading Notes.
Problem C: Building and Maintaining a Complex Irrigation System
• Follow the procedure for Problem A, having students conclude by reading
Section 4.5 and completing the corresponding Reading Notes.
V i s u a l
4 C
Irrigation Canal near the Euphrates River
Visuals
• Project Visual 4C: Irrigation Canal near the Euphrates River and play CD
Track 4, “Problem C: Building and Maintaining a Complex Irrigation
System.” While students listen to the recording, have them picture
themselves standing in an irrigation canal, holding shovels, under the
hot sun.
Problem C: You live in one of the villages on the Mesopotamian
plains. You must decide on the best way to maintain a complex
irrigation system. Which of the following responses do you think
will best address this problem?
A. Maintain only the canals around your village’s fields.
B. Force members of another village to maintain the entire irrigation
system throughout the year.
C. Cooperate with other villages to regularly maintain the entire
irrigation system.
D. Abandon irrigation and return to collecting and carrying water
from the river to the fields.
Problem D: Attacks by Neighboring Communities
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
• Project Visual 4D: An Attacking Army and play CD Track 5, “Problem
D: Attacks by Neighboring Communities.” While students listen to the
recording, have them picture themselves holding weapons (spears or
swords) and peering out the windows of their homes.
History Alive! The Ancient World
21
10
Visual 4C
V i s u a l
4 D
An Attacking Army
• Follow the procedure for Problem B, having students conclude by reading
Section 4.6 and completing the corresponding Reading Notes.
8 Have students read Section 4.7 and complete the corresponding Reading
Notes. Tell students to first complete the flowchart on their own, and then
check with their group to verify that their answers are correct.
Problem D: You live in a Sumerian city. Neighboring communities are
planning attacks on your city. You must design and draw a defense plan
to protect the city. Make a simple drawing of the city, and design your
plan around it.
9 Wrap up the activity with a class discussion. Ask students,
• What major problems did Mesopotamians face?
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
History Alive! The Ancient World
11
Visual 4D
• How did Mesopotamians modify their environment to solve these
problems?
• How did geographic challenges eventually lead to the rise of city-states?
Processing
Have students complete the Processing activity on a separate sheet of paper.
Students create a real estate advertisement encouraging people to move to one of
the Sumerian city-states.
Draft
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P r o c e d u r e s
The Rise of Sumerian City-States
43
Quicker Coverage
Simplify the Preview Activity Require that students write about their problems
and solutions, but forgo the illustration part of the activity.
Omit the Response Group for Problem C After students have completed their
Reading Notes for Section 4.4, talk students through Problem C, rather than
have groups discuss and present. Ask, What problems might occur when irrigation systems pass through many different villages? Have students read the first two
paragraphs of Section 4.5 and then complete the “Problem” box of their Reading
Notes. Tell students that Sumerian villages now had to work together. Use Guide
to Reading Notes 4 to complete the “Solution” box as a class.
Change the Processing Rather than have students create real estate advertisements, have students answer the following question in a well-written paragraph:
How did geographic challenges lead to the rise of city-states in Mesopotamia?
Before students begin writing their responses, encourage them to review their
Reading Notes, especially the flowchart for Section 4.7.
Create an “Irrigation Treaty” After students have read Section 4.5, have the
class work together to create a treaty that clearly explains the following:
• why different villages must cooperate to maintain the irrigation system
• two specific actions that all villages will take to maintain the system
Have a representative from each of the groups of three students that are working on the activity together sign the treaty and then lead the class in a round of
applause for successfully drafting a treaty to solve this problem.
Enhance the Processing Challenge students to tailor their advertisements to
entice people to move to one specific Sumerian city-state. Have students research
one of the city-states on the map in Chapter 4. Then tell them to include in their
advertisements at least two pieces of information unique to their city-state.
Draft
44 Chapter 4
Visuals
Deeper Coverage
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P r o c e d u r e s
22
F u r t h e r
Detecting the Past: Clues from Archaeology
1 Discuss why archaeologists study artifacts. Remind students that artifacts
are objects made and used by people in the past. Archaeologists can learn
about a society by examining artifacts.
2 Draw a three-column chart on the board to show the three stages of an
archaeologist’s work. Write these headings at the top of the columns: “Learn
and Plan”; “Dig and Discover”; and “Preserve, Reconstruct, and Interpret.”
Say, These are three general stages archaeologists use to do their work. First,
they learn about the history of a site and then plan their own excavation. Next,
they carefully dig, following their plan. Finally, they preserve, reconstruct, and
interpret the artifacts. Title the chart, “Woolley’s Work at Ur.”
3 Have students read the Chapter 4 Reading Further in the Student Edition.
Ask, What had Woolley already learned by the time he arrived at the site?
(Woolley had learned about the construction of a temple at the site, in what
was once a part of the ancient city of Ur.) Have a volunteer enter this information in the first column of the chart.
4 Have student groups copy and complete the chart about Woolley’s work at
Ur. Form student groups of three to four members. Have each group choose
a Recorder and a Spokesperson. The Recorder should copy the chart from
the board. Then group members should work together to complete the chart,
using information they learned from Reading Further 4. The Recorder should
enter the information in the appropriate column.
5 When groups have completed their charts, have each Spokesperson share
his or her group’s chart entries. Begin with the first stage, “Learn and Plan.”
Have each Spokesperson share what his or her group placed in this column of
their chart. A volunteer from each group should add this information under
“Learn and Plan” on the board chart. Compare and contrast all groups’
answers as a class. Repeat this process for the columns titled “Dig and
Discover” and “Preserve, Reconstruct, and Interpret.”
6 Have students complete the Chapter 4 Reading Further in their Interactive
Student Notebooks. Have volunteers share their ideas about what an archaeologist in the future might conclude about our society and about the lives of
students from artifacts the scientists might uncover. Ask the class to discuss
how accurate each volunteer’s conclusions are. Discuss how artifacts can
answer questions, and also how these answers can change when new information is discovered.
Draft
46 Chapter 4
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R e a d i n g
23
I n s t r u c t i o n
English Language Learners
Learners with Special Education Needs
Scaffold the Activity After students listen to the CD
track for each Mesopotamian problem, allow groups
time to choose a solution, write down reasons for their
choice, and rehearse their explanations. Then have
each group stand and share their reasons. After the
presentations, explain the solutions Mesopotamians
came up with, showing visuals if possible. Allow students to ask clarifying questions, and then have them
read and complete their Reading Notes.
Support the Response Group Consider creating
a transcript of CD Tracks 2–5, which present the
Mesopotamian problems. Give students the transcript to study before brainstorming their solutions.
For Problems B and D, display starting images that
can be embellished as students create their irrigation
system and defense system. For Problem B, provide a
sketch of a simple village, with fields and a river running along one side of the village. Students will then
determine how to transport water from the river to all
the fields. For Problem D, provide a sketch of a group
of houses, with a number of farms circling the houses.
Students will then determine how best to defend their
city-state. Consider allowing two students to share the
role of Presenter.
Provide Sample Real Estate Advertisements Before
students complete the Processing activity, show them
an example of a real estate advertisement. Have
students compare the example with the Processing
instructions. Ask students whether the sample contains all the assignment requirements. Encourage
students to brainstorm ways the sample could be
improved.
Learners Reading and Writing Below
Grade Level
Break Up the Reading For Section 4.2, have students read the first two paragraphs and complete
the corresponding Reading Notes. Debrief as a class.
Summarize aloud the bullet points in the third paragraph of Section 4.2. Then tell students that, during
the activity, they will learn more about the problems
Mesopotamians faced. For Sections 4.3 to 4.6, have
students read the first few paragraphs in each section
and then turn to the Reading Notes to complete the
prompts in the “Problem” boxes. Debrief as a class.
Have students finish reading each section in their
books and then turn to the Reading Notes to complete the prompts in the “Solution” boxes. For Section
4.7, create an overhead transparency of the flowchart
and model the Reading Notes. Read aloud the first
paragraph of Section 4.7 in the student book. Tell students that the flowchart will help answer the Essential
Question: How did geographic challenges lead to the
rise of city-states in Mesopotamia? Read aloud the first
two sentences of the second paragraph and fill in the
first two boxes of the flowchart as a class. Then tell
students to finish reading Section 4.7 and complete
the rest of the flowchart.
Draft
Provide Reading Notes Assistance Use Guide to
Reading Notes 4 to give students the answers to the
written questions for Sections 4.2 to 4.6. For Section
4.2, students will circle and explain the geographic
characteristic that might pose the biggest challenge
to people living in Mesopotamia. For Sections 4.3 to
4.6, students will create pictures for each problem and
solution, using the provided summaries for guidance.
For Section 4.7, create an overhead transparency of the
Reading Notes and fill in the flowchart as a class.
Advanced Learners
Offer an Alternative Processing Offer a written essay
assignment as an alternative to the Processing activity.
Ask students to suppose that a group of Sumerian citizens is very upset by the decision to build walls and
moats around their cities. The group feels that this
system will be too costly to build and maintain. Also,
these citizens do not like the idea of being isolated
from the nearby farms and animals. Have students
write an essay in which they argue for the necessity
of these walls. In their essay, they should define the
problem clearly (give the reasons the walls are needed)
and propose a solution.
The Rise of Sumerian City-States
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D i f f e r e n t i a t i n g
24
L e a r n i n g
Enrichment Resources
Literature Recommendations
Find out more about the rise of Sumerian city-states
by exploring the following Enrichment Resources for
History Alive! The Ancient World at www.teachtci.com.
The following books offer opportunities to extend the
content in this chapter.
Enrichment Readings These in-depth readings
encourage students to explore selected topics related to
the chapter. You may also find readings that relate the
chapter’s content directly to your state’s curriculum.
Internet Connections The recommended Web sites
provide useful and engaging content that reinforces
skills development and mastery of subjects within the
chapter.
Sumer: Cities of Eden by the editors of Time-Life
Books (Alexandria, VA: Time-Life, 1993)
The Sumerians (History Opens Windows) by Jane
Shuter (Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library, 2008)
Ancient Agriculture: From Foraging to Farming by
Michael Woods and Mary B. Woods (Minneapolis:
Runestone Press, 2000)
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E n h a n c i n g
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Draft
48 Chapter 4
Section 4.2
Possible answers: hilly and received rain (northern
part), low plains with little rain (southern part), rivers
sometimes flood, soil was hard and dry most of the
year, few trees, few stones, few natural barriers.
Answers will vary, but students should justify the
characteristic they circle by explaining why it would
pose a challenge to people living in Mesopotamia.
Section 4.3
Problem
1. The advantages of living in the foothills included
mild weather, plentiful rains, wood for shelters,
and stones for toolmaking.
2. Pictures will vary but should show that there were
food shortages in the foothills caused by increasing
populations.
Solution
1. Farmers moved from the foothills to the plains of
Sumer, near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
2. Pictures will vary but should show Mesopotamians
moving south from the mountains to the plains.
3. The Sumerians were an ancient people who lived in
Sumer, the plains region of southern Mesopotamia.
Section 4.4
Problem
1. During the spring, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
flooded the plains. For the rest of the year, Sumer
was hot, dry, and windy.
2. Farmers had either too much water or not enough.
They had no way to control the water supply.
3. Pictures will vary but should show frustrated
farmers with their fields either flooded or too dry.
t o
R e a d i n g
N o t e s
4
3. The Sumerians also controlled the water supply by
digging canals and constructing dams and
reservoirs.
Section 4.5
Problem
1. Sumerian farmers had to maintain the irrigation
system across village boundaries.
2. Pictures will vary but should show canals becoming clogged with silt.
Solution
1. Sumerian farmers had to work together for the
common good to maintain the irrigation system.
2. Pictures will vary but should show workers clearing silt from canals and balancing reservoir water
levels.
3. The Sumerians began to live in larger towns and
cities.
Section 4.6
26
Problem
1. Pictures will vary but should show Sumerian cities
fighting over the right to use water.
2. There were no natural geographic barriers (such as
mountains and rivers) in the plains of Sumer.
Solution
1. The Sumerians built walls and moats around their
cities.
2. Pictures will vary but should show a walled city of
houses, surrounded by a moat, with farms outside
the city.
3. The cities of Sumer are called city-states because
they were like independent countries.
Solution
1. The Sumerians controlled the water supply by
building an irrigation system.
2. Pictures will vary but should show levees preventing flooding and holes in the levees allowing water
to flow to the fields.
Draft
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G u i d e
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t o
R e a d i n g
N o t e s
4
Section 4.7
Possible answer:
Problem 1
How did geographic
challenges lead to the
rise of city-states in
Mesopotamia?
Problem 3
Irrigation system crossed
village boundaries
Food shortage in the
foothills
Solution 2
Built an irrigation system
Solution 1
Moved to river valley of
Sumer
Problem 2
Too much or too little water
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G u i d e
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Solution 3
Began to work together and
live in cities
Draft
50 Chapter 4
Problem 4
City-states fought with each
other
Solution 4
Built walls and dug moats
around city-states
To protect the integrity of assessment questions, this
feature has been removed from the sample lesson.
These videos will help you learn more about our print and
online assessment tools.
Creating Printable Assessments (2:33 min)
Creating Online Assessments (2:25 min)
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Assessment
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1
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U n i t
C H A P T E R
4
The Rise of Sumerian
City-States
How did geographic challenges lead to the rise of
city-states in Mesopotamia?
P R E V I E W
Think of a recent problem or challenge that you faced, and what you did to
solve it. In the “Problem” box in the flowchart below, draw a simple illustration of
the problem or challenge. Also in that box, write a one-sentence summary of the
problem. In the “Solution” box, draw a simple illustration to show how you solved
the problem. Also write one sentence describing the solution.
Problem
Solution
29
R E A D I N G
N O T E S
Key Content Terms
As you complete the Reading Notes, use these terms in your answers.
Mesopotamia
Euphrates River
irrigation
silt
Tigris River
Sumer
levee
city-state
Section 4.2
List five words or phrases that characterize the geography of Mesopotamia. Circle
the one characteristic that might pose the biggest challenge to people living there.
In a complete sentence, explain why you chose this characteristic.
Draft
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The Rise of Sumerian City-States
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4
Section 4.3
Use complete sentences to answer the questions in the flowchart.
Problem
1. What were some advantages of living
in the foothills of the Zagros
Mountains?
2. Draw and label a simple picture
showing the problem that occurred
around 5000 B.C.E.
Solution
1. How did farmers living in the foothills
solve the food shortage?
2. Draw and label a simple picture
showing Mesopotamians’ solution to
the food shortage.
3. Who were the Sumerians?
Draft
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C h a p t e r
30
4
Section 4.4
Use complete sentences to answer the questions in the flowchart.
Problem
Solution
1. Describe the seasonal weather
changes in Sumer.
1. How did the Sumerians solve the
problem of an uncontrolled water
supply?
2. Why was it difficult to raise crops in
Sumer?
2. Draw and label a simple picture showing a Sumerian irrigation system.
31
3. Draw and label a simple picture
showing the problem caused by an
uncontrolled water supply.
3. In what other ways did the Sumerians
control the water supply?
Draft
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C h a p t e r
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4
Section 4.5
Use complete sentences to answer the questions in the flowchart.
Problem
1. What new problem occurred after
Sumerian farmers created irrigation
systems?
2. Draw and label a simple picture
showing what could happen to an
irrigation system that was not
maintained.
Solution
1. Why could Sumerian farmers no
longer live apart, or in small groups?
2. Draw and label a simple picture
showing how the Sumerians kept their
complex irrigation system working.
3. What was the long-term result of the
Sumerians working together?
Draft
26 Chapter 4
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C h a p t e r
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4
Section 4.6
Use complete sentences to answer the questions in the flowchart.
Problem
1. Draw and label a simple picture
showing why Sumerian cities fought
with each other.
Solution
1. What did the Sumerians do to protect
their cities?
2. Draw and label a simple picture
showing how the Sumerians protected
their cities.
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2. How did the physical geography of
Sumer leave its cities unprotected?
3. Why do historians call the cities of
Sumer “city-states”?
Draft
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C h a p t e r
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4
Section 4.7
To complete the flowchart, summarize how geography led to the rise of Sumerian
city-states. In the appropriate boxes below, list each problem and its solution, as
described in the reading.
Problem 1
How did geographic
challenges lead to the
rise of city-states in
Mesopotamia?
Problem 3
Solution 1
Food shortage in the
foothills
Solution 2
Problem 2
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C h a p t e r
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Solution 3
Problem 4
Solution 4
P R O C E S S I N G
On a separate sheet of paper, create a real estate advertisement to encourage people
to move to one of the Sumerian city-states. Include the following:
• A clever title for the advertisement, to catch the reader’s eye. Be sure it includes
the words Sumerian City-State.
• At least three illustrations representing the ideas the Sumerians came up with
to solve key problems.
• A caption for each visual that describes the solution and why it helped make
this Sumerian city-state a desirable place to live.
Draft
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R E A D I N G
4
F U R T H E R
Preparing to Write: Analyzing Artifacts
Suppose that you are an archaeologist living five hundred years from now. You are
excavating at a site in a flat, deserted area. From reading history books, you know
that there was once a big city here. One day, you and your team find the artifact
shown below. It is a two-sided coin of some sort. What can you learn from it?
Side 1
Side 2
What five things do you notice about Side 1?
35
What five things do you notice about Side 2?
Using your observations in the lists above, what are three conclusions you might
reach about the unknown society that used this artifact?
Draft
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C h a p t e r
The Rise of Sumerian City-States 29
4
Writing to Support a Conclusion
List five personal artifacts found in your bedroom. Then write a paragraph describing one conclusion a future archaeologist might make about you. Use the
examples from your list of personal artifacts to support that conclusion. Details
about the personal artifacts should strongly support the conclusion.
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C h a p t e r
36
Use this rubric to evaluate your paragraph. Make changes to your work if you
need to.
Score
Description
3
Personal artifacts (details) strongly support the conclusion. The paragraph uses both simple and more complex sentences well. There are no
spelling or grammar errors.
2
The paragraph presents a fairly well-constructed conclusion (topic sentence). Personal artifacts (details) mostly support the conclusion. The
paragraph uses both simple and more complex sentences fairly well.
There are some spelling or grammar errors.
1
The paragraph presents a weakly-constructed conclusion (topic sentence). Personal artifacts (details) do not support the conclusion well.
There is little use of more complex sentences. There are many spelling
or grammar errors.
Draft
30 Chapter 4
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
4 A
Zagros Mountains
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V i s u a l
37
Problem A: You are a Mesopotamian living in one of the villages in
the foothills. You must decide what to do about the food shortages in
your village. Which of the following responses do you think will best
address the problem?
A. Increase the number of times each year that farmers plant their
crops.
B. Move down to the river plains and try to grow crops there.
C. Abandon farming and return to hunting and gathering.
D. Attack neighboring villages and steal their food.
Draft
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4 B
Euphrates River
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V i s u a l
38
Problem B: You live in one of the villages on the Mesopotamian plains.
To provide your village with a year-round supply of water, you must
design a water-control system. Draw and label the best plan for this
system. Your plan should include rivers and fields.
Draft
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4 C
Irrigation Canal near the Euphrates River
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V i s u a l
39
Problem C: You live in one of the villages on the Mesopotamian
plains. You must decide on the best way to maintain a complex
irrigation system. Which of the following responses do you think
will best address this problem?
A. Maintain only the canals around your village’s fields.
B. Force members of another village to maintain the entire irrigation
system throughout the year.
C. Cooperate with other villages to regularly maintain the entire
irrigation system.
D. Abandon irrigation and return to collecting and carrying water
from the river to the fields.
Draft
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4 D
An Attacking Army
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V i s u a l
40
Problem D: You live in a Sumerian city. Neighboring communities are
planning attacks on your city. You must design and draw a defense plan
to protect the city. Make a simple drawing of the city, and design your
plan around it.
Draft
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